Five Great Kanye Songs To Get You Prepped For Yeezus

Yeezus is coming!

You've read the interview, now get excited by visiting some classic Kanye West tracks you may have missed the first time around.

Kanye West - Get Em High (Featuring Common) (A-Trak Remix) (2004)

Back in 2004 when A-Trak was Yeezy's tour DJ he pulled out this remix from nowhere, a re-working of The Knife's pop anthem Heartbeats mashed with Get Em High from Ye's debut The College Dropout. Even though he dropped the Talib Kweli rap (probably just for logistical reasons) Common's guest spot is one of the high points of the album and signalled the beginning of a great relationship of collaboration.

Jay-Z – The Bounce (Featuring Kanye West) (2002)

Jigga gives Kanye his first proper outing behind the microphone as payback for I.Z.Z.O (Hova) and the rest of the massive hits that he had crafted for him up to this point. The beat is massive street Timbaland - a total sitter for Ye and one that it would be pretty hard to fuck up. He reworks a few raps that showed up on early demos, drops references to hardcore gangster shit like Shrek and generally puts in a good turn for a first attempt. Jay-Z's raps are excellent and this track sparks the initial anticipation of the two doing an album together, a dream which of course came true on Watch The Throne.

Kanye West – Keep The Receipt (Featuring Dirt McGirt) (2004)

Originally featured on a pre-release version of The College Dropout that never saw the light of day, Kanye and ODB's duet was then shifted for a release by Ol' Dirty Bastard (in his Dirt McGirt incarnation) on Roc-A-Fella which also never eventuated. Unfortunately the two didn't get the chance to work together again before ODB passed away, but this lost track is a testament to how great future collabs could have been, especially considering how green Kanye is.

Consequence – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Featuring Kanye West)

Q-Tip's cousin Consequence was an early collaborative partner for Kanye and even was signed to GOOD Music at some stage, but Cons public bitching about Kanye hanging out with his cool new friends and not working on his stuff seems to have caused a split. They also did a (perhaps unnecessary) version of Souls Of Mischief's 93 Til Infinity. 

Kid Cudi – Make Her Say (Featuring Kanye West and Common) (2009)

Even though its one long terrible pun on Gaga's Poker Face about blowjobs, the song nevertheless features Kudi's great sing song rapping style, which Ye apes for his verse as well. Common shows up once again trying to bring some class, but he has a long way to go to save the schoolboy humour. Cudi's track on Cruel Summer is evidence they are still working brilliantly together, and latest reports also have him down to appear on Yeezus.